Laurier football weekly update

The Windsor curse is finally over as we won the game 38-9 over the Lancers on Saturday. This win moves our record to 7-1 to finish the regular season and it also gives us the second OUA playoff seed, providing us with the all-important first round playoff bye. WATCH VIDEO RECAP

Offence
It was a very balanced attack against Windsor as we threw for 298 yards and rushed for 265 yards.

Quarterback Michael Knevel played a very clean football game and was 15 of 20 on his passes for 298 yards and a touchdown. He once again spread the ball around to many receivers. Kurleigh Gittens Jr. had six receptions for 122 yards, Brentyn Hall had four receptions for 113 yards and Marcus Arkarakas had three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, Eric Guiltinan had 46 yards rushing and two TD’s, Osayi Iginuan had 13 carries for 92 yards and Levondre Gordon had 18 carries for 109 yards and one touchdown.

A BIG thumbs up the whole offensive line, full backs and tight ends for paving the way for the country’s leading rushing attack this year.

Defence
On defence, we were stout all day. We only gave up 15 first downs and a total of 150 yards of offence to Windsor. Once again, we got to the opposing quarterback and finished the year with 36 sacks, which is first in the nation.

Linebacker Brandon Calver led the way with two sacks and Nakas Onyeka, Robbie Smith and Trevaughan James all had one. On big Trevaughan’s sack he also forced the fumble in the end zone and recovered it himself for yet another defensive touchdown. This brings our total to six defensive touchdowns on the year, which leads the country.

We also added to our interception totals as Godfrey Onyeka got his fourth pick of the year. Leading the way in the tackle department was, once again, Onyeka with nine. Nakas led the entire OUA this year with 51 solo tackles.

Special Teams
It was an extremely tough day in the kicking game, with wind gusts close to 30 km/hour at times. Nathan McLean was 0/1 in field goal attempts, but was a perfect 5/5 on extra points.

In the return game, both Gittens Jr. and Carson Ouellette did a great job tracking the ball as it moved through the windy air. There weren’t any big returns to speak of, but just we were successful at all day at catching the ball – which was a challenge in itself.

Next up:
This week we are on the bye. Our players are still working out, having meetings and practicing. The two, first-round OUA games this week are Ottawa @ Carleton and Guelph @ McMaster.

If McMaster wins, we face them. If Guelph wins, then we face the winner of the Ottawa @ Carleton game. Either way, the OUA semi-final game is here at University Stadium on November 5th.

Here’s what is happening:

Atlantic Schooner’s Grey Cup Pre-Party
As another way to raise funds for the football program, we are selling tickets to the Atlantic Schooner’s Grey Cup Pre-Party on Thursday, November 24 at the Toronto Convention Centre.

Players of the Week Lunch
Join us this Thursday, October 27th at noon in the Hawks Nest to recap the Windsor game, honour the players of the game, hand out some great prizes and look ahead to the playoffs.